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I found myself trying to manage your lines from my computer chair. I can't believe how many times it appeared the kite would be going out of fade and some how you managed to hold it. Good job and tpatter was correct.......again.....It is do-able with in-land wind. I didn't put a stop watch on the lowered portion, but it's close enough for this ol' guy. Let me know which straps you NEED.

Norm I like your thin webbing the best.

Well done Wayne! I'm really envious but also very happy for you.

I will try to practice this weekend so please nobody else post another video! :'(

Many of the Old Skool SULs are very stable in a Fade. Benson InnerSpace, PKC Pro Wren and Prism Vapor are three that come to mind.

Some years ago I was flying my InnerSpace in very smooth beach breezes, but there was a pesky loose Jack Russell terrier that was on the hunt for it and its owner was obliviously wandering around and not paying attention.

To make matters worse, I used to use the old Prism Roll-up Bag and had it on the ground by my car, with a dozen or so kites in their sleeves. Yet another off the leash dog in an on-leash park was wandering around, looking for places to empty his bladder. His path would lead to my kite bag and the thought of having some very nice kites smelling like dog urine did not appeal to me.

I couldn't land the InnerSpace or it would be a Jack Russell chew toy, so I put the Benson in a Fade, staked it and trotted over to the kite bag to intercept the incontinent dog.

I got the kite bag rolled up and back in the car, looked over to see the InnerSpace still hovering weightlessly in the breeze, so I rolled up my SLKs, lines, line laundry and tails and started to put them all away.

Maybe 20 minutes later, as I was nearly all wrapped up, a couple of older gentlemen came over to ask me about that "unusual kite" that was still up. It seemed to be upside-down and they thought there was something wrong with it.

I walked back to the InnerSpace, pulled the stake out and got it out of the Fade and flew it to show them there was nothing wrong with the kite.

It was just resting.

Haha oh my God, a good reminder why I probably should never take my german shepherd with me, even though I never let her off the leash in public places. Originally I thought it would be fun to have her hang out with me while I'm flying the kite, a good outdoor hobby as I can include the dog , but she's been dangerously curious of the kite even when it's just leaning against the wall in my apartment. Better not take her with me as long as I don't have a friend who can hold on to her.

And madhabitz, I'll try my best not to get distracted from the topic in the future. Sometimes it just feels silly to start a new topic for something so closely related.

But back to the fade related discussion again, thank you for your replies folks! It's nice tho hear your opinions and reasons, hopefully one day I'm experienced enough to answer questions like this myself.

Hoping to get a crack at this challenge myself (though I think this one will be over soon) but I am still determined to get a "good" video of myself performing the AVFFF, so all my efforts are still concentrated on that trick. We are going on almost a straight month of bad kiting weather here right now and this weekend looks dismal as well. I'm hoping to be able to post something in the near future if the freak'n weather will chill out. Congrats to Wayne and good luck to all.

Just got back from two hours of flying this morning. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I read a review of the SF (STD in the review, but mine is an UL) on Kite Life saying it was twitchy/unstable in a fade. Because of that, I was really hoping to use the Nirvana STD to do this. Well, I barely had enough wind to keep the SF UL in the air, without the US. Once I finally remembered to tighten the leech line, it got better.

Fade launches sucked. The kite would fall to the ground right after, unless I was backpeddling at a decent rate. I could hold it for 5-10 seconds, before it dove at the ground. I did get the lauches down better, though. I've read that it needs to be a sweeping motion. Well, that's not the whole of it, from what I saw. Trying to "sweep" it always made it stop the rotation pointed at the ground for me. It needs to start slow, to get the tail up a bit, but then I'd accelerate the motion to get it rotating and quickly throw slack to catch it on the lower bridle legs. That worked pretty well. So, at least I'm improving.

But the wind at the deck was terrible. I'm thinking, inland, at least, I'll need to get into a fade up higher. I took my first stabs at spin axels. I think I'm getting good at them. They're not too tricky. I haven't managed to fracture one, though. I've only once fractured an axel, on accident, at the edge of the window.

Eventually, the wind picked up, so I got out the Nirvana STD. It's lighter-than-stock framing kept it flying in lighter winds than I would have guessed. My only other STD is the Quantum, and I haven't flown the Nirvana much yet. It surprised me. Same deal on the fade launches, though. The wind near the gound would not keep it up.

I expect it will be a while before I can manage to get those straps. I'm gonna have to get out to the beach more this year than last, or it might take ages. I appreciate the challenge and encouragement, though. I enjoyed today's session, even if there were frequent lulls in the wind. I probably wouldn't have even gone out today without the motivation.

I did get the lauches down better, though. I've read that it needs to be a sweeping motion. Well, that's not the whole of it, from what I saw. Trying to "sweep" it always made it stop the rotation pointed at the ground for me. It needs to start slow, to get the tail up a bit, but then I'd accelerate the motion to get it rotating and quickly throw slack to catch it on the lower bridle legs. That worked pretty well. So, at least I'm improving.

The inputs to pulling into the fade is vary a lot by for kite. Glad you found one that works for you.

I never see hijacks,although we do tend to branch out in different directions sometimes, but there's always something that seems to instigate it .... oops .... this thread is starting to look like my family tree

Congrats Wayner, looked like some challenging conditions you had to deal with there.

« Last Edit: March 17, 2013, 12:07 AM by mikenchico »

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"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see" John W Lennon

"People do not quit playing because they grow old, they grow old because they quit playing" George Bernard Shaw

Wow !!!! Norm you got all kinds of action going on. I've been gone a few days and everyone is active. Nice to see... I was in Kentucky for four days. Temp. hit 72 degrees Saturday..Really nice. came home to snow again... Didn't bring a kite. Knee is feeling better. But still a bit sore. That video of you flying the Fade makes me want to cry... . That is my goal as I stated. You got some crazy Fade flying hands. Seriously because I struggle so much with that Fade. Watching you hold her for so long. It encourages me to stay focused and read all the input. I do well from a Fade launch but that is not acceptable. I have to pancake to Fade. Hold her and fly her. I really appreciate the video and feed. However side of my knee is still tender and the snow prevents anytime to practice this week. I'll be peeking in and re-reading input...

You are probably finding out by now (if you haven't already) why we have a bag full of kites. You should have an SUL if you don't already. The HQ Breeze I am flying in the video is an SUL. Old school, so it does great Long Fades, Perfect Pinwheels, Slow Axels, Never ending Side Slides, and absolutely beautiful 540's. After learning these trick on the SUL you transfer them to your Standards. It sounded like you needed a SUL bad. You can still find a HQ Breeze if you're looking. Let me know if your interested in one or put a listing in the Wanted Section. Are there better quality SUL's? Yep, and they cost a bunch more. The Breeze I know is $116.00. Great SUL, especially for the price.

I appreciate every response to my post about my Saturday sesson.

Yes, a SUL is probably in order. Everything I read about the Breeze is positive, and that's much more affordable than I figured. It fits in the budget, and will get me flying more. So, I am quite interested. Should I post in the Wanted section, or did you have something up your sleeve?

In response to a comment about shaving weight, yes, I was flying without tail weights for both kites, and without the upper spreader for the SF. I tried leaving the spreader in for the Nirvana when winds picked up, and it still had sufficient drive.

I do need to work on the pancake to fade. I've never pulled it off quite right, but I suspect I'm closer on that than on the fractured axel. Especially now that I've found the right touch for a fade launch for these two kites.

I hope to get out again this weekend, and the next I'll be at the DC festival. But I have to get over this cold first.

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